Sacramento Kings have a big problem

Sacramento Kings vs Memphis Grizzlies

There were many things to point out from last night as the Sacramento Kings snatched defeat from the jaws of victory last night. Enough that this column could go on and on and on. There was the lack of offensive continuity when Boogie sits (which is a lot right now due to continuing foul trouble), the slow rotations that started with the second unit in the second quarter and continued until they peaked in the fateful fourth quarter, and the lack of spacing created due to very few threats from deep.

All of which contributed to this ghastly loss. Some of these are fixable (the offensive continuity and defense), but one glaring weakness that kept rearing its ugly head was the lack of depth behind Boogie, and specifically the lack of size when him and Jason Thompson sit.

Kings unable to play at full potential

We can go over and over what the plus/minus discrepancy is when Boogie plays to when he sits (last night it he was +19), but simply watching the game you can see the team’s bigs weren’t put together in a way to maximize their potential. With Boogie, or Cthuhlu as CBS Sports Matt Moore is referring to him as, you have damn near the whole package, with a little defense and shot blocking aside, but the rest of bigs are such niche players that unless they play next to Boogie, they can be greatly exposed.

Jason Thompson, for example, a solid third big on a good team is thrust into a starting role on the Kings and can be stretched when having to go against a top power forward, Zach Randolph, in this case. Last night, JT stepped up to the plate for the most part, actively playing defense in the first half where he held Randolph scoreless, and contributing 7 boards during the game.

When he’s actively engaged chasing after boards early in the game, you know that you will get a JT who can contribute nicely to a win, and that’s exactly what we got last night.

Now asking him to be somewhat of an offensive anchor down low when Boogie is going through his foul troubles is a stretch of his abilities. While he can knock down the occasional mid range jumper and bang to get a post bucket (as he did in the 4th quarter for a clutch hoop), this is not his strength.

Carl Landry is a positive

In stepped Carl Landry, who has always been blessed with a great scoring touch despite being a 6’7″ power forward. He is averaging 16.7 per 36 this year, per basketball-reference.com, and last night wasn’t much different. His 10 points in 25 minutes were slightly below his average but still on par with what can be expected from a Landry outing. It’s his defense, because he’s 6’7″, that is his glaring weakness, and sadly the Kings do not have a shot blocker to help him on the back line.

Boogie can cover some for Landry through smarts and quickness, but JT just doesn’t have that ability and the defense predictably caved when these two were on the court last night, and every night.

Obviously, playing against the hulking front line of the Grizzlies, two 7 footers, the crafy and powerful Zach Randolph, and Jon Leuer, who while not great is still 6’10″, is very taxing for the Kings, not having a backup big who can protect the rim is a huge minus. Or at least be big to deter shot because when the Kings go full backups, they trot out Reggie Evans alongside Landry.

Evans tries very hard and will give you every last ounce of effort he can, something that is great for skills such as rebounding, but it doesn’t make up for the fact that he’s 6’8″ and not very good at anything else on the basketball court. Continually last night, the Kings backups were victimized simply because they weren’t tall enough to stop the Grizzlies.

An issue with the rotation

And this problem doesn’t just stop at containing the bigs in the paint, but transfers to when guards and wings drive, as there is nothing threatening about taking on a player five inches as opposed seven or eight inches bigger than you. This is what happens when your team carries one center and two undersized power forwards in a four man rotation.

First and foremost, these problems stem from the lack of flexibility the Kings have on their roster, stemming from the awful Maloof/Petrie end of reign. The Kings had very little ways to add to their roster, especially once they let Isaiah go and need to find a point guard, and they decided against bringing in a fifth big to battle and potentially take Evans spot.

Maybe they could have went after Ed Davis instead of Ryan Hollins at the veteran’s minimum. Actually they probably should have since he would have given them Reggie Evans production, been three inches taller and is actually useful on offense. Regardless, the team is stuck with what they have for now unless they look to make a move to shore up these mismatched parts.

In the meantime, it is going to be on coach Malone to stagger his rotations some to try and get more minutes with one of his backups on the floor with one of the starters. This could mean sitting JT a little early so he can come back in with the majority of the subs to start the second and fourth quarters. Or maybe do a little Rick Carlisle move and sit your best big, Boogie, early so he can prop up sub heavy lineups in the second and fourth quarters.

Kings gave away too many fouls

The Kings also need Boogie to step up and cut down on the fouls, even if some were rather flimsy last night, so he can add five minutes to the 30 that he is averaging right now. Even just 2.5 minutes less of a possible Landry/Evans frontcourt in each half could have saved the Kings last night, but this is something to really monitor throughout the season.

As it stands, this four man rotation is going to be tough to weather each and every game and will take some much better play from Thompson, last night withstanding, to help do that. This is one of the big reasons that expectations needed to be tempered during the 5-1 start, and last night was the perfect example as to why.